1 00:00:15,356 --> 00:00:15,796 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:18,436 --> 00:00:21,276 Speaker 2: You're about to hear an episode of Cautionary Tales with 3 00:00:21,396 --> 00:00:26,516 Speaker 2: Tim Harford. Tim's podcast explores mistakes from history and importantly, 4 00:00:26,716 --> 00:00:29,356 Speaker 2: what we can learn from them. As you can imagine, 5 00:00:29,436 --> 00:00:31,796 Speaker 2: there's a lot of disasters to choose from, but there's 6 00:00:31,836 --> 00:00:34,636 Speaker 2: always an interesting angle on what we can take from them. 7 00:00:35,036 --> 00:00:37,916 Speaker 2: I learned something new every time it be surprised, but 8 00:00:37,996 --> 00:00:40,876 Speaker 2: a shipwreck from the sixties can teach us something about 9 00:00:40,916 --> 00:00:44,356 Speaker 2: a mistake we all make when making decisions today. This 10 00:00:44,516 --> 00:00:47,996 Speaker 2: episode is about a poet. William McGonagall is remembered today 11 00:00:47,996 --> 00:00:50,756 Speaker 2: as the worst poet in the world, and Tim is 12 00:00:50,876 --> 00:00:53,676 Speaker 2: obsessed with his work. I think I am too. Here's 13 00:00:53,716 --> 00:00:56,796 Speaker 2: a quick example, A pathetic tale of the sea I 14 00:00:56,836 --> 00:01:01,316 Speaker 2: will unfold enough to make one's blood run cold, concerning 15 00:01:01,396 --> 00:01:05,076 Speaker 2: four fishermen cast a drift in a dory. As I've 16 00:01:05,116 --> 00:01:08,836 Speaker 2: been told, I'll relate the story twas on the eighth April, 17 00:01:09,156 --> 00:01:11,756 Speaker 2: on the afternoon of that day that the village of 18 00:01:11,916 --> 00:01:16,756 Speaker 2: Louisbourg was thrown into a wild state of disarray. So 19 00:01:17,476 --> 00:01:20,436 Speaker 2: what can we learn from a disastrous poet? Tim has 20 00:01:20,436 --> 00:01:23,396 Speaker 2: a few ideas, and in true revisionist history style, he 21 00:01:23,476 --> 00:01:27,236 Speaker 2: has a feeling we've been understanding McGonagall all wrong. Enjoy 22 00:01:27,276 --> 00:01:29,636 Speaker 2: the episode. It's one of my favorites, and make sure 23 00:01:29,676 --> 00:01:33,836 Speaker 2: you subscribe to Cautionary Tales for plenty more disasters and 24 00:01:33,916 --> 00:01:36,156 Speaker 2: plenty more lessons. 25 00:01:43,756 --> 00:01:47,716 Speaker 1: The wind is fierce, no doubt about it. It's the 26 00:01:47,796 --> 00:01:51,876 Speaker 1: strongest gale that John Watt can remember, and he's been 27 00:01:51,916 --> 00:01:55,956 Speaker 1: working for the North British Railway since eighteen sixty seven, 28 00:01:56,436 --> 00:02:00,316 Speaker 1: a full twelve years. It's a good night to be 29 00:02:00,516 --> 00:02:04,596 Speaker 1: safely sheltered in the Railways signal cabin, sharing a mug 30 00:02:04,636 --> 00:02:10,476 Speaker 1: of tea with a friend, signalman Thomas Barkley. As what 31 00:02:10,876 --> 00:02:13,676 Speaker 1: and Berkley sit their tea and look out of the 32 00:02:13,676 --> 00:02:16,996 Speaker 1: window into the darkness, it can see the faint line 33 00:02:17,036 --> 00:02:21,436 Speaker 1: of lamps all along the new railway bridge, running almost 34 00:02:21,556 --> 00:02:25,596 Speaker 1: two miles across the wide River Tay to the city 35 00:02:25,636 --> 00:02:29,836 Speaker 1: of Dundee. Every now and then the clouds gust apart 36 00:02:30,356 --> 00:02:34,036 Speaker 1: and the full moon picks out the high girders of 37 00:02:34,116 --> 00:02:40,756 Speaker 1: the longest bridge in the world. A few minutes after 38 00:02:40,876 --> 00:02:45,236 Speaker 1: seven o'clock comes the signal from the south the northbound 39 00:02:45,276 --> 00:02:50,276 Speaker 1: train is approaching. Thomas Barkley steps out of the cabin 40 00:02:50,676 --> 00:02:54,996 Speaker 1: into the wind and waits. As the train approaches, the 41 00:02:55,116 --> 00:02:58,876 Speaker 1: sparks from the wheels visible in the dark, he greets 42 00:02:58,916 --> 00:03:01,836 Speaker 1: the crew with a smile, handing over the batten that 43 00:03:01,956 --> 00:03:05,796 Speaker 1: gives permission for a train to cross the bridge. The 44 00:03:05,876 --> 00:03:09,996 Speaker 1: train is moving at walking pace. He sees child peer 45 00:03:10,076 --> 00:03:12,396 Speaker 1: out of the window of a carriage as it passes. 46 00:03:16,196 --> 00:03:21,076 Speaker 1: Then as the train puffs off over the long, high 47 00:03:21,316 --> 00:03:24,996 Speaker 1: iron span, Thomas goes back to his friend in the 48 00:03:24,996 --> 00:03:27,556 Speaker 1: shelter of the cabin and sends a message to the 49 00:03:27,596 --> 00:03:30,596 Speaker 1: signal box over on the other side of the river, Tay. 50 00:03:33,116 --> 00:03:37,956 Speaker 1: The signal bell rings three times in response, and still 51 00:03:38,636 --> 00:03:45,116 Speaker 1: the wind howls. Thomas turns back to his mug of tea. 52 00:03:45,876 --> 00:03:48,956 Speaker 1: But John, what is gazing out of the window at 53 00:03:48,996 --> 00:03:54,756 Speaker 1: the bridge. There's something wrong with the train, he says Thomas. 54 00:03:54,796 --> 00:03:58,916 Speaker 1: Barkley thinks he's imagining it, but John knows what He's seen. 55 00:03:59,996 --> 00:04:04,156 Speaker 1: Three red tail lamps fading into the distance over the bridge, 56 00:04:04,316 --> 00:04:08,316 Speaker 1: and then a series of flashes, three small and one big, 57 00:04:09,196 --> 00:04:16,036 Speaker 1: then darkness. No tail lamps. The train's gone over, Thomas, 58 00:04:16,476 --> 00:04:23,396 Speaker 1: he says. Thomas Berkley still isn't convinced. Surely the train 59 00:04:23,476 --> 00:04:27,196 Speaker 1: has just disappeared from view after cresting the highest point 60 00:04:27,276 --> 00:04:31,796 Speaker 1: of the bridge. Surely they'll see her again soon, but 61 00:04:31,836 --> 00:04:37,076 Speaker 1: they don't. Thomas tries calling the signal box on the 62 00:04:37,116 --> 00:04:42,836 Speaker 1: other side of the bridge, nothing. They go outside, briefly 63 00:04:42,916 --> 00:04:46,596 Speaker 1: venture onto the bridge, and then retreat as the wind 64 00:04:46,756 --> 00:04:49,276 Speaker 1: threatens to tear them off the girders and into the 65 00:04:49,316 --> 00:04:55,556 Speaker 1: waters below. The clouds part again, and the full moon 66 00:04:55,716 --> 00:05:01,556 Speaker 1: reveals the scene. A thousand yards of the bridge are gone, 67 00:05:02,156 --> 00:05:06,796 Speaker 1: the high girders of the central spans, the iron piers 68 00:05:06,876 --> 00:05:11,556 Speaker 1: that had supported them also gone. And of course the 69 00:05:11,636 --> 00:05:15,676 Speaker 1: train has gone too, and every one of its passengers. 70 00:05:16,996 --> 00:05:22,036 Speaker 1: It's a catastrophe. But this is not a story about 71 00:05:22,076 --> 00:05:26,796 Speaker 1: a fatal bridge collapse. It's a story about a poet. 72 00:05:28,196 --> 00:05:56,836 Speaker 1: I'm Tim Harford, and you're listening to cautionary tales beautiful 73 00:05:57,076 --> 00:06:01,276 Speaker 1: railway bridge of the silvery tay Alas. I'm very sorry 74 00:06:01,316 --> 00:06:05,156 Speaker 1: to say that ninety lives have been taken away on 75 00:06:05,196 --> 00:06:09,436 Speaker 1: the last Sabbath day of eighteen seventy nine, who will 76 00:06:09,436 --> 00:06:14,676 Speaker 1: be remembered for a very long time. Thus begins a 77 00:06:14,676 --> 00:06:20,316 Speaker 1: poem titled the tay Bridge Disaster. It is widely regarded 78 00:06:20,476 --> 00:06:26,156 Speaker 1: as the worst poem ever written, and its author, William McGonagall, 79 00:06:26,676 --> 00:06:31,676 Speaker 1: is widely regarded as the worst poet. I'll spare you 80 00:06:31,756 --> 00:06:36,196 Speaker 1: the full poem, but here's a central verse. So the 81 00:06:36,276 --> 00:06:40,436 Speaker 1: train moved slowly along the Bridge of Tay until it 82 00:06:40,476 --> 00:06:44,556 Speaker 1: was about midway. Then the central girders, with a crash. 83 00:06:44,316 --> 00:06:48,276 Speaker 3: Gave way, and down went the train and passengers into 84 00:06:48,316 --> 00:06:53,356 Speaker 3: the tea. The storm fiend did loadally bree because ninety 85 00:06:53,556 --> 00:06:56,996 Speaker 3: lives had been taken away on the last Sabbath day 86 00:06:57,076 --> 00:07:00,796 Speaker 3: of eighteen seventy nine, which will be remembered for a 87 00:07:00,956 --> 00:07:01,956 Speaker 3: very long time. 88 00:07:04,796 --> 00:07:07,716 Speaker 1: When I was just a boy, I saw an illustration 89 00:07:07,916 --> 00:07:11,596 Speaker 1: of the Tay Bridge catastrophe in a children's picture book. 90 00:07:12,636 --> 00:07:15,156 Speaker 1: It stayed with me. I can still see it in 91 00:07:15,196 --> 00:07:19,876 Speaker 1: my mind. The bridge seems so horribly high and thin 92 00:07:20,596 --> 00:07:23,676 Speaker 1: as it collapses into the storm. The train is just 93 00:07:23,996 --> 00:07:31,956 Speaker 1: steaming off into thin air. It's awful. And then I 94 00:07:32,116 --> 00:07:38,036 Speaker 1: encountered William mcgonagall's truly terrible poem, and it stuck with 95 00:07:38,156 --> 00:07:42,196 Speaker 1: me just as vividly, or should I say, it has 96 00:07:42,236 --> 00:07:46,716 Speaker 1: been remembered for a very long time. Here's the end 97 00:07:46,796 --> 00:07:47,876 Speaker 1: of the poem. 98 00:07:49,196 --> 00:07:53,316 Speaker 3: Oh ill fated Bridge of the silvery tea. I must 99 00:07:53,396 --> 00:07:57,676 Speaker 3: now conclude my lay by telling the world fearlessly without 100 00:07:57,716 --> 00:08:01,516 Speaker 3: the least dismay, that your central girders would not have 101 00:08:01,596 --> 00:08:05,916 Speaker 3: given way. That least many sensible men do say had 102 00:08:05,956 --> 00:08:10,196 Speaker 3: they been supported on each side with buttresses. At least 103 00:08:10,236 --> 00:08:14,756 Speaker 3: many sensible men confesses. For the stronger we our houses 104 00:08:14,796 --> 00:08:18,956 Speaker 3: do build, the less chance we have of being killed. 105 00:08:22,636 --> 00:08:29,436 Speaker 1: It's awful. I'm obsessed with William McGonagall. I have so 106 00:08:29,796 --> 00:08:33,996 Speaker 1: many questions. Who was this man? What does he teach 107 00:08:34,076 --> 00:08:38,556 Speaker 1: us about art? And above all, how does a poem 108 00:08:38,716 --> 00:08:43,956 Speaker 1: get to be this bad? I have several biographies of 109 00:08:43,996 --> 00:08:46,796 Speaker 1: the poet McGonagall in front of me. One of them 110 00:08:46,836 --> 00:08:50,556 Speaker 1: says he was born in eighteen twenty five. Another says 111 00:08:50,596 --> 00:08:54,556 Speaker 1: he was born in eighteen thirty, and both were written 112 00:08:54,556 --> 00:09:01,116 Speaker 1: by William McGonagall himself. William mcgonagall's parents were Irish, but 113 00:09:01,196 --> 00:09:03,876 Speaker 1: he was born in Edinburgh and went to school in 114 00:09:03,996 --> 00:09:08,036 Speaker 1: South Ronalds Say, one of the Orkney islands, remote even 115 00:09:08,076 --> 00:09:13,276 Speaker 1: by the standards of schooltland. William's education was interrupted by, 116 00:09:13,516 --> 00:09:18,236 Speaker 1: of all things, an encounter with his teacher's beloved pet tortoise. 117 00:09:19,956 --> 00:09:23,596 Speaker 1: William was fascinated by the creature, but when he picked 118 00:09:23,636 --> 00:09:26,476 Speaker 1: it up to fully admire the beauty of its shell, 119 00:09:27,236 --> 00:09:33,116 Speaker 1: the unfortunate animal voided its bowels on his hands. In disgust, 120 00:09:33,396 --> 00:09:36,516 Speaker 1: the boy hurled the tortoise to the ground, nearly killing it, 121 00:09:37,156 --> 00:09:45,596 Speaker 1: and mcgonagall's teacher, enraged, started thrashing his face with a cane. 122 00:09:45,956 --> 00:09:51,876 Speaker 1: All very distressing. William's father complained to the local magistrate. 123 00:09:52,636 --> 00:09:56,556 Speaker 1: The magistrate threatened to disbar a teacher, and the practical 124 00:09:56,596 --> 00:10:00,036 Speaker 1: outcome was that the teacher lived in fear of ever 125 00:10:00,196 --> 00:10:05,636 Speaker 1: upsetting William again, who skipped school with impunity. That was 126 00:10:05,716 --> 00:10:09,116 Speaker 1: the story McGonagall would tell, and his point was clear. 127 00:10:09,996 --> 00:10:14,596 Speaker 1: William McGonagall was much like William Shakespeare. He had learned 128 00:10:14,716 --> 00:10:19,836 Speaker 1: more from nature than he learned at school. McGonagall adored 129 00:10:19,956 --> 00:10:25,356 Speaker 1: his namesake, William Shakespeare. He read and re read Macbeth, Richard, 130 00:10:25,356 --> 00:10:27,676 Speaker 1: the Third Hamlet, and othellow. 131 00:10:29,436 --> 00:10:33,836 Speaker 3: I gave myself no rest until I obtained complete mastery 132 00:10:34,036 --> 00:10:36,916 Speaker 3: over the above four characters. 133 00:10:38,596 --> 00:10:42,356 Speaker 1: Mcgonagall's family moved to Dundee, where both he and his 134 00:10:42,476 --> 00:10:47,756 Speaker 1: father worked as weavers. William would give impromptu performances of 135 00:10:47,796 --> 00:10:52,236 Speaker 1: Shakespeare to his shopmates. He says they were quite delighted, 136 00:10:52,596 --> 00:10:55,436 Speaker 1: and perhaps they were, since they were willing to pay 137 00:10:55,556 --> 00:11:00,716 Speaker 1: good money to support his theatrical ambitions. William McGonagall was 138 00:11:00,756 --> 00:11:05,156 Speaker 1: to play the title role in Macbeth just as long 139 00:11:05,156 --> 00:11:07,796 Speaker 1: as he paid one pound to the theater owner for 140 00:11:07,836 --> 00:11:12,276 Speaker 1: the privilege one hundred dollars in today's money. His colleagues 141 00:11:12,436 --> 00:11:16,476 Speaker 1: all contributed, and nobody can say they didn't get their 142 00:11:16,516 --> 00:11:22,036 Speaker 1: money's worth. McGonagall couldn't afford a costume of his own, 143 00:11:22,476 --> 00:11:26,356 Speaker 1: so borrowed a few items from friends and colleagues, and 144 00:11:26,436 --> 00:11:31,276 Speaker 1: took the stage dressed less like the ambitious nobleman Macbeth 145 00:11:31,796 --> 00:11:37,316 Speaker 1: and more like a highland beggar. The play traditionally ends 146 00:11:37,316 --> 00:11:41,756 Speaker 1: with a climactic fight in which Macbeth is slain by Macduff. 147 00:11:42,836 --> 00:11:48,316 Speaker 1: This concept proved two pedestrian for McGonagall. One witness described 148 00:11:48,356 --> 00:11:53,316 Speaker 1: the result an immortal scene in more ways than one. 149 00:11:54,196 --> 00:11:57,196 Speaker 4: McGonagall had evidently made up his mind to astonish the 150 00:11:57,356 --> 00:12:01,876 Speaker 4: gods at his performance, for instead of dying when run 151 00:12:01,916 --> 00:12:05,116 Speaker 4: through the body by the sword of Macduff, he maintained 152 00:12:05,156 --> 00:12:08,636 Speaker 4: his feet and flourished his weapon about the ears of 153 00:12:08,636 --> 00:12:11,836 Speaker 4: his adverse. In such a way that there was for 154 00:12:11,956 --> 00:12:15,756 Speaker 4: some time an apparent probability of the performance ending in 155 00:12:15,956 --> 00:12:16,916 Speaker 4: real tragedy. 156 00:12:20,196 --> 00:12:21,556 Speaker 1: McGonagall saw it differently. 157 00:12:22,556 --> 00:12:27,516 Speaker 3: The actor who was playing Macduff against my Macbeth tried 158 00:12:27,516 --> 00:12:29,756 Speaker 3: to spoil me in the combat by telling me to 159 00:12:29,836 --> 00:12:33,156 Speaker 3: cut it short. I continue the combat until he were 160 00:12:33,196 --> 00:12:36,836 Speaker 3: fairly exhausted, and until there was one old gentleman in 161 00:12:36,876 --> 00:12:42,116 Speaker 3: the audience cried out well done. McGonagall walk into him, 162 00:12:42,156 --> 00:12:44,236 Speaker 3: and so I did until he was in a great 163 00:12:44,356 --> 00:12:48,676 Speaker 3: rage and stamped his foot and cried out, fool, why 164 00:12:48,716 --> 00:12:49,676 Speaker 3: don't you fall? 165 00:12:52,516 --> 00:12:57,916 Speaker 1: With Macduff audibly urging mcgonagall's Macbeth to go down, and 166 00:12:57,996 --> 00:13:03,556 Speaker 1: Macbeth ignoring him over and over again. Macduff, enraged, wrapped 167 00:13:03,596 --> 00:13:06,196 Speaker 1: Macbeth out his knuckles with the flat of the blade, 168 00:13:06,676 --> 00:13:10,876 Speaker 1: forcing him to drop his own sword. McGonagall was now 169 00:13:11,116 --> 00:13:15,556 Speaker 1: unarmed but undaunted, and he dodged around and around Macduff, 170 00:13:15,836 --> 00:13:18,436 Speaker 1: looking for all the world as though he now planned 171 00:13:18,436 --> 00:13:22,916 Speaker 1: to wrestle for it. The Macduff actor, disgusted at the 172 00:13:22,956 --> 00:13:27,156 Speaker 1: tomfoolery camp, tossed his own sword aside and charged in 173 00:13:27,356 --> 00:13:32,996 Speaker 1: to tackle McGonagall. The sublime tragedy of Macbeth came to 174 00:13:33,036 --> 00:13:37,036 Speaker 1: an undignified end with a title character swept off his 175 00:13:37,116 --> 00:13:43,716 Speaker 1: feet and deposited on his backside. The audience were ecstatically. 176 00:13:44,316 --> 00:13:47,716 Speaker 1: They bellowed for McGonagall to be brought forward to receive 177 00:13:47,836 --> 00:13:55,116 Speaker 1: a standing ovation. What a shame that mcgonagall's artistic sensitivities 178 00:13:55,116 --> 00:13:58,436 Speaker 1: were not put to full time use. He continued to 179 00:13:58,476 --> 00:14:03,356 Speaker 1: work as a weaver for decades. Not to worry. Good 180 00:14:03,396 --> 00:14:07,436 Speaker 1: things come to those who wait. He would eventually emulate 181 00:14:07,756 --> 00:14:13,796 Speaker 1: William Shakespeare, the man he so admired. William McGonagall would 182 00:14:13,836 --> 00:14:19,876 Speaker 1: become a poet cautionary tales will be back after the break. 183 00:14:27,596 --> 00:14:30,876 Speaker 1: McGonagall was about fifty when it became clear to him 184 00:14:30,916 --> 00:14:34,916 Speaker 1: that there was no future in weaving. Machine looms had 185 00:14:34,956 --> 00:14:35,516 Speaker 1: taken over. 186 00:14:36,116 --> 00:14:39,956 Speaker 3: I couldn't make a living from it. But I may 187 00:14:40,036 --> 00:14:43,676 Speaker 3: see Dame Fortune has been very kind to me by 188 00:14:43,876 --> 00:14:48,836 Speaker 3: endowing me with the genius of poetry. I remember how 189 00:14:48,876 --> 00:14:53,716 Speaker 3: I felt when I received the spirit of poetry. 190 00:14:54,916 --> 00:14:59,356 Speaker 1: It was June eighteen seventy seven. McGonagall was lamenting that 191 00:14:59,436 --> 00:15:01,916 Speaker 1: he couldn't get away to the Highlands for a holiday. 192 00:15:02,836 --> 00:15:06,916 Speaker 3: All of a sudden, my body got inflamed and instantly 193 00:15:07,036 --> 00:15:10,636 Speaker 3: I was seized with a strong desire to write poetry, 194 00:15:11,076 --> 00:15:14,116 Speaker 3: so strong in fact, that in imagination I thought I 195 00:15:14,196 --> 00:15:19,476 Speaker 3: heard a voice crying in my ears right right. I 196 00:15:19,556 --> 00:15:21,956 Speaker 3: wondered what could be the matter with me? And I 197 00:15:21,996 --> 00:15:24,916 Speaker 3: began to walk backwards and forwards in a great fit 198 00:15:24,956 --> 00:15:29,076 Speaker 3: of excitement, saying to myself, I know nothing about poetry, 199 00:15:29,516 --> 00:15:33,876 Speaker 3: but still a voice kept ringing in my ears right right. 200 00:15:34,636 --> 00:15:38,956 Speaker 3: Until at last, being overcome with a desire to write poetry, 201 00:15:39,276 --> 00:15:42,716 Speaker 3: I found paper, pen and ink, and in a state 202 00:15:42,796 --> 00:15:46,316 Speaker 3: of frenzy, sat me down to think what would be 203 00:15:46,396 --> 00:15:50,756 Speaker 3: my first subject for a poem. 204 00:15:50,876 --> 00:15:55,596 Speaker 1: That subject was the Reverend George Gilfillan, a local preacher. 205 00:15:55,756 --> 00:16:00,916 Speaker 1: McGonagall wished to praise. The poem stirringly concludes. 206 00:16:01,076 --> 00:16:05,036 Speaker 3: My blessing on his noble form and on his lofty head, 207 00:16:05,836 --> 00:16:09,676 Speaker 3: May all good angels guard him while living, and hereafter 208 00:16:10,036 --> 00:16:10,836 Speaker 3: when he's deed. 209 00:16:11,956 --> 00:16:16,036 Speaker 1: McGonagall sent the poem to the Dundee Weekly News, which 210 00:16:16,156 --> 00:16:20,956 Speaker 1: took the unwise step of printing it. Thus encouraged, he 211 00:16:21,036 --> 00:16:27,476 Speaker 1: sent a second poem, Bonnie Dundee. 212 00:16:25,436 --> 00:16:29,396 Speaker 3: Oh, Bonnie Dundee, I will sing in thy praise a 213 00:16:29,436 --> 00:16:33,636 Speaker 3: few but true, simple lays regarding some of your beauties 214 00:16:33,636 --> 00:16:37,196 Speaker 3: of the present day, and virtually speaking, there's none can 215 00:16:37,236 --> 00:16:41,476 Speaker 3: then gainsay for super fine goods. There's none can excel 216 00:16:41,836 --> 00:16:46,316 Speaker 3: from Inverness to Clarkenwell and your tramways. I must confess 217 00:16:46,596 --> 00:16:50,116 Speaker 3: that they have proved a complete success, which I am 218 00:16:50,236 --> 00:16:53,396 Speaker 3: right glad to see, and a very great improvement to 219 00:16:53,516 --> 00:16:56,196 Speaker 3: Bonnie Dundee. 220 00:16:57,436 --> 00:17:01,276 Speaker 1: There is more, but alas, the Weekly News declined to 221 00:17:01,356 --> 00:17:05,836 Speaker 1: print what it described as a so called poem, at 222 00:17:05,876 --> 00:17:09,596 Speaker 1: which point McGonagall sent them a letter threatening to stop 223 00:17:09,756 --> 00:17:14,036 Speaker 1: sending any more poems. The Weekly News dryly explained to 224 00:17:14,076 --> 00:17:18,356 Speaker 1: its readers that we can only express the fervent hope 225 00:17:18,756 --> 00:17:25,156 Speaker 1: that he may put into execution this artful threat. In 226 00:17:25,196 --> 00:17:28,476 Speaker 1: the summer of eighteen seventy eight, McGonagall had been a 227 00:17:28,476 --> 00:17:31,756 Speaker 1: poet for just a year when he received a letter 228 00:17:31,796 --> 00:17:37,556 Speaker 1: from Queen Victoria's private secretary, Sir Thomas Biddulf, informing him 229 00:17:37,596 --> 00:17:40,556 Speaker 1: that Her Majesty would like to become a patron of 230 00:17:40,596 --> 00:17:45,756 Speaker 1: his poems. McGonagall seems not to have registered any surprise 231 00:17:45,876 --> 00:17:48,916 Speaker 1: at this sudden honor, but he was inspired to make 232 00:17:48,956 --> 00:17:53,276 Speaker 1: the fifty nine mile journey from Dundee to Queen Victoria's 233 00:17:53,276 --> 00:17:56,676 Speaker 1: residence at Balmorral so that he could recite his verse 234 00:17:56,716 --> 00:18:00,916 Speaker 1: for her. For an unemployed weaver, there was no way 235 00:18:00,956 --> 00:18:05,396 Speaker 1: to reach Balmorrale except to walk. The journey took three days, 236 00:18:05,916 --> 00:18:09,676 Speaker 1: during which time McGonagall was fared and sheltered by shepherds 237 00:18:09,716 --> 00:18:13,236 Speaker 1: who took pity on him. He recorded some of his 238 00:18:13,316 --> 00:18:16,196 Speaker 1: journey in poetry, notably. 239 00:18:16,436 --> 00:18:19,756 Speaker 3: On the Spittle of Glen Shee, which is most dismal 240 00:18:19,796 --> 00:18:23,436 Speaker 3: for to see, with its bleak and rugged mountains, and 241 00:18:23,636 --> 00:18:28,836 Speaker 3: clear crystal spouting fountains with their misty form, and thousands 242 00:18:28,836 --> 00:18:30,556 Speaker 3: of sheep there together doth. 243 00:18:30,436 --> 00:18:37,036 Speaker 1: Room, He was drenched by hours of rain, and threatened 244 00:18:37,036 --> 00:18:40,556 Speaker 1: by the roaring and flashing of a thunderstorm overhead. That 245 00:18:40,996 --> 00:18:44,956 Speaker 1: was undaunted, having told his friends back in Dundee that 246 00:18:45,116 --> 00:18:48,556 Speaker 1: on his way to see Her Majesty and Balmoral he 247 00:18:48,596 --> 00:18:54,236 Speaker 1: would pass through fire and water rather than retreat. Finally, 248 00:18:54,676 --> 00:18:58,476 Speaker 1: mid afternoon on the third day, McGonagall reached Her Majesty's 249 00:18:58,516 --> 00:19:02,956 Speaker 1: residence at Balmoral Castle. He was intercepted by the constable 250 00:19:02,996 --> 00:19:08,756 Speaker 1: at Balmoral's Gatehouse Lodge, who presumably observed mcgonagall's collar length 251 00:19:08,836 --> 00:19:13,316 Speaker 1: way of hair, his drenched, patched up clothes and his 252 00:19:13,396 --> 00:19:17,476 Speaker 1: dirty boots, and did not think to himself, here comes 253 00:19:17,476 --> 00:19:18,916 Speaker 1: a future poet laureate. 254 00:19:20,476 --> 00:19:23,596 Speaker 3: I showed him Her Majesty's Royal letter of Patronage for 255 00:19:23,756 --> 00:19:27,316 Speaker 3: my poetic abilities, and he read it and said it 256 00:19:27,356 --> 00:19:28,796 Speaker 3: was not Her Majesty's letter. 257 00:19:30,556 --> 00:19:35,036 Speaker 1: Someone had played a cruel trick, But McGonagall insisted that 258 00:19:35,076 --> 00:19:38,356 Speaker 1: the letter was genuine. The Constable took it away for 259 00:19:38,356 --> 00:19:41,316 Speaker 1: a while before returning to announce. 260 00:19:41,476 --> 00:19:43,956 Speaker 4: Well, I've been up at the castle with her letter, 261 00:19:44,276 --> 00:19:46,436 Speaker 4: and the answer I got for you is they can 262 00:19:46,436 --> 00:19:47,356 Speaker 4: he be bothered with you? 263 00:19:48,076 --> 00:19:52,156 Speaker 1: McGonagall showed the Constable a copy of his poems, including 264 00:19:52,196 --> 00:19:56,396 Speaker 1: the claim that McGonagall was poet to Her Majesty. The 265 00:19:56,476 --> 00:19:57,996 Speaker 1: Constable objected. 266 00:19:58,556 --> 00:20:02,036 Speaker 4: You are not poet to her Majesty. Tennyson's the real 267 00:20:02,076 --> 00:20:03,196 Speaker 4: poet to her Majesty. 268 00:20:05,156 --> 00:20:11,396 Speaker 1: Ah. Yes, Alfred Lord Tennyson, the actual poet laureate. How 269 00:20:11,596 --> 00:20:17,796 Speaker 1: inconvenient In writing The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred 270 00:20:17,836 --> 00:20:22,196 Speaker 1: Lord Tennyson performed a rare feat. He created a poem 271 00:20:22,276 --> 00:20:26,156 Speaker 1: that is as famous as the Disaster. It describes. 272 00:20:27,276 --> 00:20:30,156 Speaker 5: Canon to the right of them, Canon to the left 273 00:20:30,236 --> 00:20:33,996 Speaker 5: of them, canon in front of them, bollied and thundered, 274 00:20:34,556 --> 00:20:38,556 Speaker 5: stormed at with shot and shell. Boldly they rode and 275 00:20:38,796 --> 00:20:43,236 Speaker 5: well into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell, 276 00:20:43,596 --> 00:20:47,596 Speaker 5: rode the six hundred. 277 00:20:51,876 --> 00:20:56,556 Speaker 1: William McGonagall never got close to succeeding Tennyson as poet laureate. 278 00:20:57,396 --> 00:21:03,356 Speaker 1: Yet his poem The tay Bridge Disaster matches Tennyson's achievement. 279 00:21:04,796 --> 00:21:09,076 Speaker 1: I mean, Tennyson was good, but he was no William mcgone. 280 00:21:10,316 --> 00:21:14,356 Speaker 1: But I digress. The constable suggested that McGonagall demonstrate his 281 00:21:14,476 --> 00:21:19,956 Speaker 1: skills by reciting some poetry at the castle gate. No, sir, 282 00:21:20,596 --> 00:21:24,596 Speaker 1: said McGonagall. He wasn't some wandering charlatan. He was the 283 00:21:24,676 --> 00:21:25,396 Speaker 1: real thing. 284 00:21:25,996 --> 00:21:28,196 Speaker 3: Take me into one of the rooms on the lodge 285 00:21:28,556 --> 00:21:31,716 Speaker 3: and pay me for it, and I will give you 286 00:21:31,876 --> 00:21:32,876 Speaker 3: a recital. 287 00:21:33,596 --> 00:21:37,796 Speaker 1: The constable didn't oblige, but he gave McGonagall some advice. 288 00:21:38,596 --> 00:21:42,276 Speaker 1: Unless you want to be arrested, go home and don't 289 00:21:42,356 --> 00:21:47,716 Speaker 1: think of returning to balmorel. McGonagall duly began the three 290 00:21:47,836 --> 00:21:51,836 Speaker 1: day walk home to Dundee. When he got back, he 291 00:21:51,876 --> 00:21:55,556 Speaker 1: wrote up his adventures, sent them to the newspapers, and 292 00:21:55,636 --> 00:21:59,996 Speaker 1: before long was being mocked up and down the British Isles, 293 00:22:00,836 --> 00:22:05,356 Speaker 1: as a headline in the Evening Telegraph put it, extraordinary 294 00:22:05,476 --> 00:22:11,796 Speaker 1: freak of a Dundee poet William mcgonagh at Balmoral, genius 295 00:22:11,836 --> 00:22:20,596 Speaker 1: still unrecognized. When a cruel prank wastes a week of 296 00:22:20,636 --> 00:22:23,996 Speaker 1: your life, dashes your hopes and leads you to being 297 00:22:24,116 --> 00:22:29,796 Speaker 1: mocked in the national press, what can you do? The answer, 298 00:22:30,676 --> 00:22:36,676 Speaker 1: pick yourself up and try again. McGonagall noted that Tennyson 299 00:22:36,916 --> 00:22:40,316 Speaker 1: was famous for his war poetry, so he decided to 300 00:22:40,396 --> 00:22:44,996 Speaker 1: dabble in war poems too. They are not very good. 301 00:22:45,996 --> 00:22:48,036 Speaker 1: The Battle of Cresse begins. 302 00:22:48,476 --> 00:22:51,156 Speaker 3: To us on the twenty sixth of August. The sun 303 00:22:51,356 --> 00:22:54,636 Speaker 3: was burning hot in the year of thirteen forty six, 304 00:22:54,956 --> 00:22:57,036 Speaker 3: which will never be forgot. 305 00:22:57,356 --> 00:23:01,236 Speaker 1: And ends with the classic McGonagall move of cramming some 306 00:23:01,356 --> 00:23:04,196 Speaker 1: extra syllables in free of charge. 307 00:23:05,356 --> 00:23:08,596 Speaker 3: And the king's heart was filled with great delight, and 308 00:23:08,676 --> 00:23:12,116 Speaker 3: he thanked Jack for capturing the Bohemian standard during the fight. 309 00:23:14,356 --> 00:23:18,316 Speaker 1: But McGonagall was soon encouraged to receive a lucrative job 310 00:23:18,356 --> 00:23:24,036 Speaker 1: offer from the famous playwright and theater impresario Dion Busico. 311 00:23:24,796 --> 00:23:29,236 Speaker 1: Busico's letter invited him to a fine dinner, but as 312 00:23:29,316 --> 00:23:33,756 Speaker 1: McGonagall tells the story, he arrived to find several men 313 00:23:33,796 --> 00:23:38,356 Speaker 1: awaiting him, barely suppressing giggles as McGonagall was served a 314 00:23:38,516 --> 00:23:46,556 Speaker 1: cheap sandwich. McGonagall had been pranked again, although when Busico 315 00:23:46,676 --> 00:23:49,996 Speaker 1: heard about the joke, he sent McGonagall a sympathetic letter 316 00:23:50,316 --> 00:23:54,236 Speaker 1: and five pounds, enough money for McGonagall to visit London. 317 00:23:56,236 --> 00:23:58,796 Speaker 1: He had hoped to meet with one or two of 318 00:23:58,876 --> 00:24:03,196 Speaker 1: London's most celebrated actors, but had no more luck there 319 00:24:03,596 --> 00:24:09,596 Speaker 1: than at Balmoral. Later, McGonagall ventured to New York, a 320 00:24:09,636 --> 00:24:12,236 Speaker 1: city he honored indistinctive style. 321 00:24:13,476 --> 00:24:17,036 Speaker 3: As for Brooklyn Bridge, it's a very great height and 322 00:24:17,116 --> 00:24:21,076 Speaker 3: fills the stranger's heart with wonder at first sight, and 323 00:24:21,156 --> 00:24:24,516 Speaker 3: with all its loftiness, I venture to say it cannot 324 00:24:24,556 --> 00:24:27,276 Speaker 3: surpass the new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay. 325 00:24:29,556 --> 00:24:33,036 Speaker 1: William McGonagall did not succeed in selling his poems in 326 00:24:33,116 --> 00:24:38,236 Speaker 1: New York, so returned to Scotland. He was cheered to 327 00:24:38,316 --> 00:24:42,476 Speaker 1: receive a letter from the poet Laureate of Burma, writing 328 00:24:42,556 --> 00:24:46,836 Speaker 1: on behalf of Burma's King t boor Mad King McGonagall 329 00:24:47,516 --> 00:24:54,236 Speaker 1: Topaz McGonagall Knight of the white Elephant of Burma. McGonagall 330 00:24:54,396 --> 00:24:58,196 Speaker 1: accepted the honor and wore his medal, a silver elephant, 331 00:24:58,556 --> 00:25:03,116 Speaker 1: with pride. If he ever feared that this letter was 332 00:25:03,156 --> 00:25:10,596 Speaker 1: as fraudulent as the others, he shared no doubts. McGonagall 333 00:25:10,636 --> 00:25:15,836 Speaker 1: spent his final years giving public performances in Perth, Glasgow 334 00:25:15,996 --> 00:25:18,676 Speaker 1: and Edinburgh, where the main attraction appeared to be the 335 00:25:18,756 --> 00:25:24,276 Speaker 1: opportunity to hurl abuse and worse at the aspiring poet laureate. 336 00:25:25,236 --> 00:25:29,436 Speaker 1: McGonagall would dash about the stage excitedly enacting the action 337 00:25:29,556 --> 00:25:33,316 Speaker 1: as he gave dramatic recitals of his war poems, clad 338 00:25:33,356 --> 00:25:38,076 Speaker 1: in a kilt and brandishing a claim or with perilous enthusiasm. 339 00:25:38,596 --> 00:25:41,836 Speaker 1: More useful was his small round shield with which he 340 00:25:41,876 --> 00:25:49,476 Speaker 1: could parry incoming eggs and cabbages. William McGonagall died in 341 00:25:49,516 --> 00:25:53,636 Speaker 1: poverty on the twenty ninth of September nineteen oh two. 342 00:25:53,716 --> 00:25:58,956 Speaker 1: He was seventy two years old or seventy seven. He 343 00:25:59,036 --> 00:26:02,956 Speaker 1: was buried in a pauper's grave, having practiced the art 344 00:26:03,036 --> 00:26:07,236 Speaker 1: of poetry for twenty five years, and having been mocked 345 00:26:07,316 --> 00:26:12,636 Speaker 1: for every one of them. The death certificate misspells his 346 00:26:12,796 --> 00:26:17,996 Speaker 1: name Emil Zola died on the same day, as it happens. 347 00:26:18,836 --> 00:26:26,276 Speaker 1: Zola a fine writer, he was no William McGonagall. Cautionary 348 00:26:26,316 --> 00:26:39,596 Speaker 1: tales will return after the break. The poetry critics argue 349 00:26:39,636 --> 00:26:43,116 Speaker 1: that McGonagall has an important lesson to teach us. He 350 00:26:43,356 --> 00:26:48,556 Speaker 1: is the perfect example of how not to write poetry. 351 00:26:49,116 --> 00:26:51,676 Speaker 1: If you must read him, be sure to do the 352 00:26:51,756 --> 00:26:57,916 Speaker 1: opposite of whatever he does. Joseph Salaimy, an award winning poet, complains, 353 00:26:58,676 --> 00:27:01,636 Speaker 1: I know far too many persons who share some of 354 00:27:01,716 --> 00:27:05,156 Speaker 1: mcgonagall's faults. Can we at least resolve that we will 355 00:27:05,196 --> 00:27:09,676 Speaker 1: not commit the poetic crimes that McGonagall committed. We stop 356 00:27:09,836 --> 00:27:14,636 Speaker 1: with the humdrum plainness, the vapid statement, the dull diction, 357 00:27:14,916 --> 00:27:20,196 Speaker 1: the crappy meter, the tedious length, the triviality, the commonplace thoughts, 358 00:27:20,276 --> 00:27:25,476 Speaker 1: and the cliched perceptions. Dr Gerard Carruthers, an expert in 359 00:27:25,596 --> 00:27:30,556 Speaker 1: Scottish literature, agrees there is something rather cruel about us 360 00:27:30,636 --> 00:27:36,316 Speaker 1: still reprinting and republishing McGonagall. He told the BBC it's 361 00:27:36,396 --> 00:27:39,356 Speaker 1: time for us to close the book on McGonagall once 362 00:27:39,436 --> 00:27:45,276 Speaker 1: and for all. But that feels so narrow minded. I 363 00:27:45,436 --> 00:27:48,636 Speaker 1: draw a different lesson. We shouldn't complain about a man 364 00:27:48,716 --> 00:27:52,916 Speaker 1: who wrote bad poetry. We should celebrate a man who 365 00:27:52,916 --> 00:27:56,396 Speaker 1: wrote poetry. Of course, the poems are bad, but most 366 00:27:56,436 --> 00:28:01,476 Speaker 1: poems are bad. Most acts of human creativity are fairly incompetent. 367 00:28:01,956 --> 00:28:04,396 Speaker 1: Most of us can't write novels, not that anyone else 368 00:28:04,396 --> 00:28:07,036 Speaker 1: would pay to read. Most of us can't draw or 369 00:28:07,076 --> 00:28:10,156 Speaker 1: paint anything that anyone else would pay to look. Most 370 00:28:10,156 --> 00:28:12,876 Speaker 1: of us can't act. We can't sing, We can't dance. 371 00:28:13,396 --> 00:28:19,796 Speaker 1: Who cares dance and sing? Anyway? I think we're prone 372 00:28:19,876 --> 00:28:23,476 Speaker 1: to making a sad mistake. When we think about creative acts, 373 00:28:24,036 --> 00:28:27,876 Speaker 1: we instinctively set the benchmark at an absurdly high level. 374 00:28:28,636 --> 00:28:32,356 Speaker 1: We've been spoiled, perhaps because at the touch of a button, 375 00:28:32,756 --> 00:28:36,116 Speaker 1: we can listen to Glenn Gould playing Johann Sebastian Bach. 376 00:28:36,676 --> 00:28:40,716 Speaker 1: We can watch Ian McKellen and Judy Dench performing Shakespeare. 377 00:28:41,076 --> 00:28:43,356 Speaker 1: We can read a novel by Austin, or watch a 378 00:28:43,396 --> 00:28:47,036 Speaker 1: film by Coppola, or gaze at an interior by Vermere. 379 00:28:48,876 --> 00:28:52,996 Speaker 1: Not only has modern technology made these wonders possible, but 380 00:28:53,076 --> 00:28:59,276 Speaker 1: modern technology also makes more humdrum creative acts economically worthless. 381 00:28:59,996 --> 00:29:02,836 Speaker 1: Nobody is going to pay me to perform bark or 382 00:29:02,996 --> 00:29:06,316 Speaker 1: paint a watercolor. But I still play the piano from 383 00:29:06,356 --> 00:29:08,796 Speaker 1: time to time, and very occasionally I pick up a 384 00:29:08,796 --> 00:29:12,036 Speaker 1: pencil in a sketch book. It doesn't matter if there's 385 00:29:12,036 --> 00:29:16,556 Speaker 1: no economic value in the result. There's personal value for 386 00:29:16,676 --> 00:29:21,476 Speaker 1: me in the process of trying to express myself. That 387 00:29:21,596 --> 00:29:25,196 Speaker 1: might seem obvious, but it's easy to forget. In debates 388 00:29:25,236 --> 00:29:29,196 Speaker 1: about the rise of generative AI, people worry about the 389 00:29:29,236 --> 00:29:33,916 Speaker 1: death of human creativity. But I don't think generative AI 390 00:29:34,076 --> 00:29:36,836 Speaker 1: is more of a threat to human creativity than the 391 00:29:36,916 --> 00:29:41,356 Speaker 1: camera or the record player. It changes the economics, to 392 00:29:41,436 --> 00:29:45,476 Speaker 1: be sure, McGonagall lost his job as a weaver because 393 00:29:45,476 --> 00:29:48,316 Speaker 1: of machine looms, so he would have understood all about 394 00:29:48,436 --> 00:29:53,556 Speaker 1: losing work to a machine. But while a new technology 395 00:29:53,716 --> 00:29:57,316 Speaker 1: changes who might be paid for creative work, and what 396 00:29:57,436 --> 00:30:00,036 Speaker 1: sort of creative work they might be paid for, and 397 00:30:00,076 --> 00:30:02,756 Speaker 1: how much they might be paid for it, it doesn't 398 00:30:02,836 --> 00:30:06,876 Speaker 1: make creative work impossible. All of us are free to 399 00:30:06,956 --> 00:30:09,996 Speaker 1: sit down in front of a piano or an easel 400 00:30:10,596 --> 00:30:14,076 Speaker 1: and try to create something beautiful. And while it's nice 401 00:30:14,076 --> 00:30:20,836 Speaker 1: to succeed, it's more important to try. As we grow 402 00:30:20,996 --> 00:30:25,396 Speaker 1: from children into adults, we often express our creativity less. 403 00:30:26,396 --> 00:30:29,676 Speaker 1: It might be because we're afraid of failure, which is 404 00:30:29,756 --> 00:30:33,756 Speaker 1: another thing to admire about McGonagall. He wasn't afraid of 405 00:30:33,796 --> 00:30:38,116 Speaker 1: creative failure. In fact, he wouldn't recognize creative failure if 406 00:30:38,156 --> 00:30:41,116 Speaker 1: it hurled an egg at him. That's one way to 407 00:30:41,116 --> 00:30:44,636 Speaker 1: look at McGonagall anyway, as a man who was always 408 00:30:44,716 --> 00:30:50,436 Speaker 1: willing to express his inner creativity. But that's not actually 409 00:30:50,476 --> 00:30:54,476 Speaker 1: the way I see him. I don't think William McGonagall 410 00:30:54,636 --> 00:30:58,996 Speaker 1: was admirable because he gave poetry a try. I think 411 00:30:59,876 --> 00:31:07,316 Speaker 1: he was a genius. You've perhaps heard the story about 412 00:31:07,316 --> 00:31:10,756 Speaker 1: the man who goes to a doctor. He feels depressed. 413 00:31:11,636 --> 00:31:16,196 Speaker 1: The world seems so frightening and bleak. Don't worry, says 414 00:31:16,236 --> 00:31:20,516 Speaker 1: the doctor. The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. 415 00:31:20,796 --> 00:31:24,036 Speaker 1: Go and see him perform. That'll cheer you up. The 416 00:31:24,116 --> 00:31:32,956 Speaker 1: man starts to sob, But doctor, I am Pagliacci. It's 417 00:31:32,996 --> 00:31:37,356 Speaker 1: a story that's been retold and remixed countless times. So 418 00:31:37,676 --> 00:31:44,116 Speaker 1: here's another remix. What if William McGonagall isn't the pompous, talentless, 419 00:31:44,196 --> 00:31:48,516 Speaker 1: sad victim of bullies that he seems to be. What 420 00:31:48,596 --> 00:31:53,756 Speaker 1: if William McGonagall is the most brilliant clown who ever lived? 421 00:31:54,356 --> 00:31:58,596 Speaker 1: And what if Unlike Palliaci, whose despair became clear when 422 00:31:58,636 --> 00:32:02,796 Speaker 1: he took off the mask, McGonagall never removed his mask, 423 00:32:03,436 --> 00:32:09,316 Speaker 1: because underneath it he was the one laughing harder than anyone. 424 00:32:11,836 --> 00:32:15,356 Speaker 1: Think back to that appearance as Macbeth, in which McGonagall 425 00:32:15,516 --> 00:32:18,516 Speaker 1: refused to lie down and die and wrestled with the 426 00:32:18,556 --> 00:32:23,396 Speaker 1: infuriated actor playing McDuff. It's hard to think of a 427 00:32:23,436 --> 00:32:27,636 Speaker 1: funnier scene in the history of theater. Was it really 428 00:32:27,756 --> 00:32:32,356 Speaker 1: just mcgonagall's arrogance and stupidity, or did he know full 429 00:32:32,396 --> 00:32:36,876 Speaker 1: well that he was putting on a show. When the 430 00:32:36,956 --> 00:32:41,316 Speaker 1: reviewer said that McGonagall had decided to astonish the gods, 431 00:32:41,876 --> 00:32:46,276 Speaker 1: he wasn't referring to some pagan pantheon. The gods is 432 00:32:46,436 --> 00:32:50,996 Speaker 1: theater speak for the cheap seats. McGonagall was playing to 433 00:32:51,076 --> 00:32:55,996 Speaker 1: the crowd, and specifically to the poorest theater goers. Of all, 434 00:32:56,796 --> 00:33:00,436 Speaker 1: his friends from the workshop had all contributed to get 435 00:33:00,516 --> 00:33:04,036 Speaker 1: him on stage in the first place, and they loved 436 00:33:04,076 --> 00:33:09,356 Speaker 1: what they saw. McGonagall certainly gave you a show, And 437 00:33:09,436 --> 00:33:13,116 Speaker 1: once you read mcgonagall's poetry not as an exhibit of 438 00:33:13,316 --> 00:33:18,716 Speaker 1: utter incompetence, but as a deliberate, sly joke. You quickly 439 00:33:18,756 --> 00:33:23,316 Speaker 1: detect hints of mischief. The one poem, an Ode to 440 00:33:23,356 --> 00:33:25,236 Speaker 1: the Moon, begins. 441 00:33:25,636 --> 00:33:30,116 Speaker 3: Beautiful Moon, with thy silvery light. Thou seemest most charming 442 00:33:30,236 --> 00:33:33,036 Speaker 3: to my sight. As I gaze upon thee and the 443 00:33:33,076 --> 00:33:38,676 Speaker 3: sky so high, A tear of joy does moisten mine eye. 444 00:33:38,876 --> 00:33:43,516 Speaker 1: Just the usual clumsy cliche. No, mcgonagall's winking at us. 445 00:33:44,396 --> 00:33:47,796 Speaker 1: He knows what we do in the dark. The next 446 00:33:47,916 --> 00:33:51,636 Speaker 1: verses celebrate the way that the moon provides light for 447 00:33:51,716 --> 00:33:55,476 Speaker 1: the fox to steal a goose from the farmyard and 448 00:33:55,516 --> 00:33:57,636 Speaker 1: the poacher to set his snares. 449 00:33:58,516 --> 00:34:03,316 Speaker 3: And Beautiful Moon with thy silvery light, the cheerest the 450 00:34:03,476 --> 00:34:07,196 Speaker 3: lovers in the night, as they walk through the shady 451 00:34:07,316 --> 00:34:12,036 Speaker 3: groves alone, making love to each other before they go home. 452 00:34:13,116 --> 00:34:17,276 Speaker 1: Really, we're going to believe that William McGonagall was only 453 00:34:17,556 --> 00:34:22,716 Speaker 1: accidentally funny. McGonagall is best known today for his poem 454 00:34:22,836 --> 00:34:27,036 Speaker 1: about the tay Bridge disaster, but in an early poem 455 00:34:27,476 --> 00:34:30,876 Speaker 1: he also describes the tay Bridge when it was first. 456 00:34:30,556 --> 00:34:36,156 Speaker 3: Built, beautiful railway bridge of the silvery tea, the longest 457 00:34:36,196 --> 00:34:39,276 Speaker 3: of the present day that has ever crossed, or a 458 00:34:39,396 --> 00:34:44,316 Speaker 3: tidal river stream, most gigantic to be seen nearby Dundee 459 00:34:44,516 --> 00:34:45,956 Speaker 3: and the Magdalen Green. 460 00:34:48,236 --> 00:34:51,596 Speaker 1: At nearly two miles in length. It was an engineering miracle, 461 00:34:52,116 --> 00:34:56,996 Speaker 1: but McGonagall was a Dundee local, and like any local, 462 00:34:57,396 --> 00:34:59,796 Speaker 1: he would have known that the high girders of the 463 00:34:59,876 --> 00:35:07,196 Speaker 1: central bridge had already been blown down once during construction. Otherwise, 464 00:35:08,116 --> 00:35:09,716 Speaker 1: why on earth includes this. 465 00:35:09,636 --> 00:35:15,396 Speaker 3: Verse beautiful railway bridge of the Silvery Tay. I hope 466 00:35:15,396 --> 00:35:19,076 Speaker 3: that God will protect all passengers by night and by day, 467 00:35:19,716 --> 00:35:22,996 Speaker 3: and that no accident will befall them while crossing the 468 00:35:23,036 --> 00:35:26,076 Speaker 3: bridge of the Silvery Tay, for that would be most 469 00:35:26,116 --> 00:35:30,356 Speaker 3: awful to be seen near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green. 470 00:35:32,756 --> 00:35:35,956 Speaker 1: This isn't the work of an idiot. It's the work 471 00:35:35,956 --> 00:35:41,396 Speaker 1: of an old school medieval fool, a court jester using 472 00:35:41,516 --> 00:35:47,356 Speaker 1: humor to speak truth to power. Two years later, the 473 00:35:47,396 --> 00:35:52,236 Speaker 1: bridge was down and dozens of people were dead. After 474 00:35:52,276 --> 00:35:55,676 Speaker 1: a disaster at a shipyard which killed thirty eight people, 475 00:35:56,036 --> 00:36:00,236 Speaker 1: McGonagall composed a long lament, including praise for. 476 00:36:00,436 --> 00:36:03,996 Speaker 3: One thousand pounds from the directors of the Thames ironworks 477 00:36:03,996 --> 00:36:07,836 Speaker 3: and shipbuilding company, which I hope will help to fill 478 00:36:07,916 --> 00:36:10,836 Speaker 3: the bereaved one's heart with glee. 479 00:36:10,996 --> 00:36:16,716 Speaker 1: Idiot or court jester, you be the judge. As for 480 00:36:16,756 --> 00:36:21,756 Speaker 1: those prank letters from Queen Victoria's secretary, from dion Busico, 481 00:36:22,076 --> 00:36:26,276 Speaker 1: from the King of Burma, maybe they were hoaxes on McGonagall. 482 00:36:27,036 --> 00:36:31,036 Speaker 1: Maybe there were hoaxes by McGonagall on the rest of us. 483 00:36:31,476 --> 00:36:38,076 Speaker 1: They certainly helped to shape the legend. For a man 484 00:36:38,276 --> 00:36:42,996 Speaker 1: almost universally viewed as a failure, McGonagall knew how to 485 00:36:43,076 --> 00:36:47,316 Speaker 1: draw a crowd. When a statue of Scotland's greatest poet, 486 00:36:47,556 --> 00:36:52,716 Speaker 1: Robert Burns, was unveiled in Dundee, McGonagall was kept away 487 00:36:52,756 --> 00:36:56,796 Speaker 1: from the occasion by police to avoid a disturbance of 488 00:36:56,836 --> 00:37:02,116 Speaker 1: the peace. His Dundee performances so often ended in a 489 00:37:02,196 --> 00:37:06,036 Speaker 1: near riot that he was eventually banned from giving any 490 00:37:06,076 --> 00:37:10,916 Speaker 1: more recitals in the town. No wonder he died in poverty. 491 00:37:11,636 --> 00:37:15,756 Speaker 1: He'd been making fifteen shillings a night, the equivalent of 492 00:37:15,756 --> 00:37:20,236 Speaker 1: a week's wages for an ordinary laborer. Not so bad 493 00:37:20,316 --> 00:37:22,876 Speaker 1: for a man who lost his trade because of the 494 00:37:22,916 --> 00:37:27,476 Speaker 1: March of the machines. His downfall wasn't because his poems 495 00:37:27,476 --> 00:37:31,836 Speaker 1: were terrible. It was because his clowning performances were too 496 00:37:32,276 --> 00:37:37,876 Speaker 1: riotously successful to be allowed to continue. He died in poverty, 497 00:37:38,036 --> 00:37:40,916 Speaker 1: not because he was bad, but because he was just 498 00:37:41,036 --> 00:37:47,036 Speaker 1: too good. We'll never know what William McGonagall was really 499 00:37:47,076 --> 00:37:50,556 Speaker 1: thinking as he took to the stage each night. Was 500 00:37:50,596 --> 00:37:53,636 Speaker 1: he oblivious, as he seems to be, a man with 501 00:37:53,756 --> 00:37:58,636 Speaker 1: skin so thick that neither insults nor insights ever got through. 502 00:38:00,116 --> 00:38:03,156 Speaker 1: Or was he far more tragic than the mythic figure 503 00:38:03,196 --> 00:38:07,476 Speaker 1: of Palliaci, the clown, proud of his poems but knowingly 504 00:38:07,556 --> 00:38:11,836 Speaker 1: subjecting himself to nightly humiliation because there was no other 505 00:38:11,876 --> 00:38:15,556 Speaker 1: way to put food on the table. Or was the 506 00:38:15,596 --> 00:38:20,396 Speaker 1: whole thing a comic master stroke. Did he never take 507 00:38:20,476 --> 00:38:22,996 Speaker 1: off the mask? Or did he never put it on 508 00:38:23,276 --> 00:38:30,076 Speaker 1: in the first place. But while we can't read his mind, 509 00:38:30,556 --> 00:38:34,676 Speaker 1: we can read his poems, and they've brought pleasure to 510 00:38:34,836 --> 00:38:43,436 Speaker 1: countless people. A few years ago, an Edinburgh auction house 511 00:38:43,556 --> 00:38:46,636 Speaker 1: put up for sale a collection of first editions of 512 00:38:46,836 --> 00:38:51,316 Speaker 1: Harry Potter books, signed by the author JK. Rowling, who 513 00:38:51,516 --> 00:38:56,316 Speaker 1: it turns out, named Professor Minerva McGonagall in honor of 514 00:38:56,356 --> 00:39:00,996 Speaker 1: the man she described as the worst poet in British history. 515 00:39:02,276 --> 00:39:04,996 Speaker 1: The books went for a handsome enough price, I suppose, 516 00:39:06,196 --> 00:39:09,956 Speaker 1: but in the same auction a rather higher sum was 517 00:39:09,996 --> 00:39:15,556 Speaker 1: paid for a different literary gem, thirty five poems by 518 00:39:15,596 --> 00:39:19,556 Speaker 1: William McGonagall, some of them signed by the great man 519 00:39:19,636 --> 00:39:26,476 Speaker 1: himself JK. Rowling. If Commercial's success is the mark of 520 00:39:26,516 --> 00:39:30,196 Speaker 1: a great artist, then she's one of the best. But 521 00:39:30,316 --> 00:39:35,436 Speaker 1: she's no William McGonagall. He will be remembered for a 522 00:39:35,636 --> 00:39:55,716 Speaker 1: very long time. For a full list of our sources, 523 00:39:56,116 --> 00:40:02,116 Speaker 1: see the show notes at Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales 524 00:40:02,196 --> 00:40:05,196 Speaker 1: is written by me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright, Alice 525 00:40:05,236 --> 00:40:09,156 Speaker 1: Fines and Ryan Dilly. It's produced by Georgia Mills and 526 00:40:09,196 --> 00:40:12,876 Speaker 1: Marilyn Rust. The sound design and original music are the 527 00:40:12,876 --> 00:40:16,876 Speaker 1: work of Pascal Wise. Additional sound design is by Carlos 528 00:40:16,916 --> 00:40:21,716 Speaker 1: San Juan at Brain Audio. Bend A. Dafhaffrey edited the scripts. 529 00:40:22,596 --> 00:40:26,876 Speaker 1: The show features the voice talents of Genevieve Gaunt, Melanie Guttridge, 530 00:40:27,396 --> 00:40:33,116 Speaker 1: Stella Harford, Oliver Hembrough, Sarah Jupp As, Saamonroe, Jamal Westman, 531 00:40:33,316 --> 00:40:36,916 Speaker 1: and Rufus Wright. The show also Wouldn't have been possible 532 00:40:36,956 --> 00:40:40,676 Speaker 1: without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Greta Cohene, Sarah Nix, 533 00:40:40,996 --> 00:40:45,956 Speaker 1: Eric Sandler, Carrie Brody, Christina Sullivan, Kira Posey, and Owen Miller. 534 00:40:46,876 --> 00:40:51,236 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries. It's recorded 535 00:40:51,276 --> 00:40:55,316 Speaker 1: at Wardore Studios in London by Noria Barr and Lucy Rowe. 536 00:40:55,956 --> 00:40:58,756 Speaker 1: If you like the show, please remember to share, rate 537 00:40:59,036 --> 00:41:01,196 Speaker 1: and review. It really makes a difference to us and 538 00:41:01,236 --> 00:41:03,836 Speaker 1: if you want to hear the show ad free, sign 539 00:41:03,956 --> 00:41:06,556 Speaker 1: up to Pushkin Plus on the show page on Apple 540 00:41:06,596 --> 00:41:10,276 Speaker 1: Podcasts or at pushkin dot fm, slash plus